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I NITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

LEVI K. SMEDES, OE MOUN VERNON, ASSIGNOR TO HENRY E. TAYLOR, OF

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters, Patent No. 354,749, datedDecember 21, 1886. Application filed September 30, 1886.v Serial No.214,973. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEVI K. SMEDEs, a citizen of theY United States,residing at Mount Vernon, in the county of Westchester and State 5 ofNew York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Burial-Gaskets,of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a novel hand-rail forburial-caskets; and it xo consists in the features of construction andcombination of devices hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing made to the accompanying drawings, in whichi `Figure l representsa horizontal section in 15 the plane x Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a transversesection in the plane yy, Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an elevation.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts. In the drawings, theletter A designates a 2o burial-casket with curved or polygonal ends. Onthe sides and ends of this casket are secured a series of brackets, B BB2, whichare provided with sockets a, extending clear through the same.The brackets represented' in the 25 drawings are provided withscrew-Shanks, which extend through the sides and ends of the casket, andare secured in position by means of nuts fitting their inner ends. I donot wish to confine myself, however, to this precise form 3o of abracket, and I reserve-to myself the right to substitute for the sameany bracket suitable for the purpose. p

The brackets B B B2 serve to support the hand-rail C, which is made insections, each 3 5 section extending from the middle of thesocket in onebracket to the middle of the socket in the next succeedingbracket. Ofcourse those portions of the hand-rail which extend along the sides ofthe casket, and which are 4o rectilinear, can be made continuous fromone of the brackets B to the next bracket. B', since the same can bereadily passed through the brackets B B B B, and the sections. of thehand-rail which extend round the ends of the casket, which mustnecessarily be 45 curved, ca n be made to extend from either of thebrackets B on one side of the socket, through the brackets B2 Bl to thebracket B on the opposite side of the bracket; or they can be made intwo or more sections, if desired. 5o By making each of these curvedportions of the hand-rail in three (more or less) sections, each ofwhich extends from the middle of the socket in one bracket to the middleof the socket in the next bracket, I am enabled to 55 secure them inposition speedily, and to make a neat finish.

- I am awarethat removable hand-rods have been attached to a casket bymeans of eyes; but such hand rods cannot be applied to 6o caskets withcurved polygonal ends.

I am also aware that hand-rails have been attached to each side of acasket, and I do not claim such as my invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by 6 5 Letters Patent, is-

The combination, with a burial-casket, of a series of brackets, B B,secured to the sides of the casket, and a series of brackets, B2,secured to the ends of said casket, sockets formed 7o in said brackets,rectilinear rail-sections extending through the brackets B B andterminating in the middle of brackets B B, and

' curved rail-sections extending through the vbrackets B2 B2 andterminating in the middle 7 5 of the brackets B B, substantially asldescribed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEVI K. SMEDES. [L s] Witnesses:

W. HAUFE,

KASTENHUBER.

